Great House Auriverde
The is an ancient and powerful noble family hailing from the world of Ianuarii Prima in the Ember Sector's Santacruz Sub-sector in the Segmentum Tempestus. Prior to their integration into the Imperium of Man, the family was known as the Royal House of Auriverde and ruled the Santacruz Empire in the Ember Sector. Following a short war with a Raven Guard Expeditionary Fleet, the family surrendered their crown to the Emperor and swore eternal loyalty to him and his Imperium. For this, they were allowed to keep their rule over the newly founded Ember Sector as Lord Sectors in the Imperium's stead. History Not much is known about the house's history prior to the appearance of Pedro the Magnanimous in the early 30th Millennium. According to the family's records they, like most of the inhabitants of the Santacruz sub-sector, were originally from the region of Holy Terra now known as Hy Brasil. Before Pedro the Magnanimous, the house had little influence in the governance of the world of Ianuarii Prima, even though they were known to have been a part of the planet's ruling parliament. Ianuarii was a system with many inhabited planets. That fact saved it from the hardships and misery seen in most of the human worlds around the galaxy during the Age of Strife. What one world lacked, another provided. Because of this the Ianuarii system was able to maintain much of their technology throughout the Age of Strife, though the warp storms still stopped them from leaving their system. The control of the system shifted many times throughout the several millennium of the age, with no world being able to claim supremacy for long. It was Pedro the Magnanimous that brought the Auriverdes to the limelight in the beginning of the 30th Millennium. The warp storms that isolated the Ianuarii system had subsided and that had sparked talks about exploring space to get in contact with possible lost human colonies. However, the ruling party in the parliament were too worried about external threats coming into the system to risk exploring. This was not a popular opinion and Pedro capitalized on this. He won the support of key members of the parliament as well as the world's planetary defense force, the Flumen, through his rousing speeches and calls for system-wide unification and expansion outside the system. He was an incredible charismatic individual and highly intelligent, a genius by any standards. He formed a coalition that aimed to overthrow the current regime and install himself as the supreme ruler of Ianuarii Prima. In 115.M30, Pedro demanded that the parliament appoint him Ditador of Ianuarii Prima and then dissolve. They refused and the fighting started. It took 7 years to subdue the opposition on planet and by then the other planets of the system were already taking military action against Pedro's new domain. While Pedro was trying to unify the world of Ianuarii Prima under his rule, a few of the former parlamentarians fled the planet to seek refuge in other worlds. Most of them fled to the Hive world of Mimosa. There they began to rile up the ruling class. It took a few years, but eventually these former parlamentarians convinced the ruling class of Mimosa that once Pedro was done with his war in Ianuarii Prima, he would invade their planet. In response to this threat they gathered their naval strength and blockaded the world of Ianuarii Prima near the end of the world's unification war. They sent a few reinforcements to the losing parlamentarian forces, but there were not able to stop Pedro and his allies from taking the planet. It took Pedro several attempts before he was able to break through the Mimosan Blockade and even then, only temporarily. His naval strength was weak so he sought out allies among the system. Pedro went to the Forge world of Mokaie, where he comissioned new ships from the local Tech-priests. As long as he payed them and kept his armies away from their planet, they supplied him. However, they were also supplying the Mimosans. To obtain an advantage over his enemies, Pedro went to the world of Cataracta. It was a Knight World ruled by House Lima. The Knights of House Lima saw themselves as protectors rather than aggressors. They did not like that Pedro had sparked a war within the system, but were receptive to his pleas due to Mimosa having started the interplanetary conflict. After careful negociations with King Luís Loreto de Lima he was able to secure their alliance with a marriage between Pedro and Princess Ana Loreto de Lima, King Luís' daughter. From his new alliance with the Knight House, Pedro was able to secure a larger navy as well as its Knight frames. With his boosted naval strength from his deals with the Tech-priests and House Lima, he returned to Ianuarii Prima and attacked the Mimosan blockade. Mimosa, however, had not remained idle as Pedro sought out new allies. They and their parlamentarian allies gathered support from others in the system. When Pedro returned to his world, the Mimosans were ready. The ensuing battle was hard-fought, but after key Mimosan vessels were disabled the Mimosan Navy was forced to retreat or face total destruction. The blockade on Ianuarii Prima was lifted, but the battle on the planetary surface was still ongoing. In Pedro's absence the command of Ianuarii's forces went to Marshal Francisco Walters of the Flumen. The Marshal had managed to defend Pedro's city of Macara and its surrounding lands from the Mimosan invaders, despite having lost their own city of Ymaita. They had fought a brutal war for several years against the invaders, but managed to kill three of the Mimosan's main generals in the process. Nevertheless, the wr on the ground had been at a standstill until Pedro's arrival. The Ditador's descent to the surface was at the opportune time to turn the tide of the war and allow them to reclaim the lost lands from the Mimosans. The Lima Knights proved invaluable in the taking of Cold Cape, the Mimosan forward base, where the last Mimosan General met his end. Notable Conflicts *'Unification of Ianuarii Prima (115.M30 - 122.M30)' - The war fought in the planet of Ianuarii Prima between Pedro the Magnanimous and his coalition against the parliamentarians and their allies. Pedro's most important allies were the planetary defense force known as the Flumen from the city of Maraca, which would become the capital of Pedro's dominion. The war ended in Pedro's favour and he was proclaimed Supreme Ruler of Ianuarii Prima. *'Subjugation of the Ianuarii System (122.M30 - 200.M30)' - The continuation of Pedro the Magnanimous' war to conquer the Ianuarii system. While in the records this conflict is considered to have started immediately after the unification of Ianuarii Prima, the initial battles of this war were fought before the planet was entirely under Pedro's control. The conflict started with Ianuarii Prima's blockade by the Mimosan Navy, which was ended with a coalition between Pedro and House Lima. Afterwards, there was a battle on the planet's surface to oust the remaining Mimosan forces. *'The Santacruz Expansion (231.M30 - 889.M30)' - *'The Great Crusade (950.M30)' - *'Black Crusader of Von Mallas (113.M38 - 955.M39)' - Homeworlds *'Ianuarii Prima': The house's main homeworld and its ancient seat of power. It has been in the possession of the Auriverdes since the 30th Millennium and it is from there that they rule the Ember Sector. Ianuarii Prima is an advanced Civilised World. It has a tropical climate with one large lush and mountainous continent surrounded by a planet-wide ocean. Many of the the world's cities are dense metropolises, but they are still too small to be considered hives. It has a population of roughly 6.7 Billion people. The largest city is the capital of Maraca where the royal palace of the Auriverdes is located. The planet is known as the "Marvel of Santacruz" for its beauty. Notable Members *'Pedro the Magnanimous': The mythical founder of the house and first Imperador of Santacruz. He is most known for having unified the many worlds of the Ianuarii System under his control. It is in his honour that every patriarch of the family takes the name Pedro upon ascending to the role. The cross that is used on the family's crest also came into use with him and according to legend it is a symbol that can be traced back to the Holy Terra itself. He was married to Ana Loreto de Lima, daughter of King Luís of House Lima. *'Pedro 'XC' de Auriverde': The 90th ruler of Ianuarii Prima to bear the name Pedro. He is the current Lord Sector of the Ember Sector and patriarch of the Great House Auriverde. He can trace his male line all the way back to Pedro the Magnanimous who lived in the 30th Millennium. He was born as Prince Antônio João Jorge Witilines de Auriverde, the younger brother of the former Lord Pedro. Upon assuming his brother's title, his name was changed to just Pedro. He is the uncle of the Joana Maria Fonseca Coasta, who is married to the current Duke of House Lima, one of the Auriverde's closest allies. Through augmentations he has been able to live for 288 years. House Heraldry The Great House Auriverde is best known for the cross that adorns their heraldic crest. It was first used by Pedro the Magnanimous during his unification of the Ianuarii System after the Age of Strife. The cross, known as the Santacruz to the locals, is also the symbol of the Santacruz Sub-sector and is where the sub-sector earns its name. According to the family's myths the cross can be traced back to ancient times in Holy Terra, from a time before humanity spread throughout the stars. The family's colours are yellow and green. When the family were the rulers of the independent Santacruz Empire their heraldry bore a white and grey eagle with royal jewels and an imperial crown adorning the crest. During that time they also surrounded their cross with 27 stars representing the 27 systems under their control at the extent of their Empire. However, these were removed from the family's heraldry after they swore allegiance to the Imperium of Man as a sign of fealty. They also dropped their royal title and adopted the title of Lord Sector. Notable Allies Flumen Grenadiers The greatest of House Auriverde's allies are the Flumen, the elite Grenadier Regiment of the planet of Ianuarii Prima. The regiment's headquarters is in the city of Maraca, the capital of the world and the seat of House Auriverde. They serve as the planet's security and the bodyguards of the nobles of the house. In times of war they are deployed alongside other Imperial Guard regiments as specialized storm trooper infantry. They are extremely loyal to the Great House Auriverde, having sworn unbreakable vows of fielty to Pedro the Magnanimous and all his kin. The Flumen have their origins as a private militia during the Age of Strife that, by the time of Pedro the Magnanimous, had become one of the planet's official PDFs. Before the unification of Ianuarii Prima under Pedro, there were numerous different PDF regiments with varying loyalties. When the last of the holdouts were defeated, all the other PDFs were rolled into the Flumen Grenadiers. House Lima House Lima is an Imperial Knight House which has strong ties to the Imperium as a part of the Questor Imperialis. House Lima hails from the Segmentum Tempestus's Ember Sector, more specifically the Santacruz Sub-sector. When the region was independent, before the Great Crusade, the house owed allegiance to the Great House Auriverde. When the sector was brought into the Imperium, House Lima was made to answer directly to the Imperium of Man's Questor Imperialis. Nonetheless, House Lima has still maintained close ties with their former lords. Enough so that members of the Great House had married into the Knightly House. Thunder Skulls The Thunder Skulls are a mostly Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Chapter of Space Marines and a Successor Chapter of the Silver Skulls, itself supposedly a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines of the Second Founding. It was founded in 978.M37 during the 23th "Sentinel" Founding following a vision witnessed by the Chief Prognosticator of the Silver Skulls, who prophesied that the Segmentum Tempestus would face a major threat and convinced Lord Commander Argentius to send the entire 5th Company to garrison the region preemptively as a new chapter with the permission of the High Lords of Terra. The vision proved to be true as in 113.M38 the Black Crusade of Von Mallas erupted in the Segmentum Pacificus and soon spread to the Segmentus Tempestus. By the time that the Black Crusade came, the Thunder Skulls had already been dealing with local instability in the region for over a century and had established strong roots in the Santacruz sub-sector, where they are known to the locals as "Caveiras". Category:Imperium Category:Organizations Category:Ember Sector